Extortion allegation against woman from Goshen: connection to attempted child abduction in Vernal

VERNAL – A Goshen, Utah County woman already charged with harassing her town's mayor now faces new criminal charges in connection with an attempted child abduction in Vernal.

On Monday, an arrest warrant was issued for 52-year-old Amanda Kaye Bachman in 8th District Court, where she faces charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary and other charges.

The warrant, which was kept under seal, was served Thursday as Bachman appeared for a scheduled court hearing in her Utah County case. She was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail, where she is being held without the opportunity to post bail.

In March, Bachman and Beth Marilyn Schardine, 32, of Spanish Fork, were charged with theft by extortion, bribery and other charges. That investigation began when Utah County Sheriff's officers served a court-ordered “warrant to assist in the removal of a child” at Bachman's Goshen residence on Jan. 10. Officers had two search warrants to remove a 3-year-old girl from the home and return her to the girl's father, who had custody. The child was “taken from Bachman by lawful court order” and returned to her father, according to charging documents.

In May, Schardine, Ty Lucero Whetten, 36, and Kaitlyn Anne Bachman, 24, traveled to Vernal with the intention of taking the young girl away from her biological father and then taking her “to the child's biological mother in another city,” according to charging documents.

Whetten and Kaitlyn Bachman entered the father's home without permission, and the father — a Uintah County Jail officer — fired a shot inside the home, according to police who arrived shortly afterward. No injuries were reported.

These three individuals were subsequently charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, both first-degree felonies.

Since the trio's arrest in Vernal, Amanda Bachman has been campaigning for their release and took part in a small rally outside the Matheson Courthouse in Salt Lake City this week.

Although the new charges against Bachman remained sealed Friday, court records accuse her of committing most of her crimes on May 15 – the same day that police say Schardine, Whetten and Kaitlyn Bachman attempted to kidnap the child from the Vernal home.

In January, the Vernal girl's father filed a restraining order against Bachman for stalking, but it was denied, according to court records.

Bachman's first court appearance on the new charges is scheduled for Monday. The other parties in the Uintah County case have their next hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

In addition to aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, the other new charges against Bachman in Vernal include obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; theft by extortion and forgery, third-degree felonies; and improper use of authority, a Class B misdemeanor. Amanda Bachman's obstruction of justice charge is scheduled to be filed on July 3.

Bachman and Schardine are already suspected of harassing the mayor of the city of Goshen, including by falsely claiming on social media that he was involved in child sex trafficking and demanding a large sum of money to stop the harassment.

Shortly after officers removed the child from Bachman's home in January, police say Bachman posted on her Facebook page and other social media apps that the 3-year-old had been kidnapped by the Utah County Sheriff's Office and sold into human trafficking. The social media attacks later focused on two local church leaders in Goshen. One of those men, Steven Staheli, is also the mayor of Goshen.

On February 12, Staheli filed a complaint against Bachman and Schardine with the Utah County Sheriff's Office, alleging that he was the victim of “ongoing harassment” by the women and that he and the second man were subjected to “lies and distortions.” The women “demanded payment of one million dollars,” charging documents state.

In this case, Bachman and Schardine are charged with two counts of theft by extortion and bribery to influence official or political action (second-degree felonies); internet harassment (a class A misdemeanor) and criminal defamation (a class B misdemeanor).

Whetten was also charged with two counts of assault on a public servant (a second-degree felony) and impersonation of a public official (a Class B misdemeanor) after an alleged attempt to steal the child from his father in Vernal in May.